Notes
(especially her grief) under the surface. Since the character "Anna Marie" is from a traditional working community where people are accustomed to hardship, and difficulties are accepted with resignation, I wanted the acting to be understated. I asked my actors to underplay their parts and to let the context of the story reveal the emotions. I was surprised, however, by the creativity and sensitivity that the actors, especially Carolina Monte Rosa, brought to their roles.
Many people contributed generously to the making of this film. To all of them I am grateful. We worked hard to make a worthwhile piece, and we hope it will find a receptive audience.
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The Location, the Actress, and the Inspiration
The film was shot in three days in the small waterman's community of Rumbley, MD, which is where I live. It features a lovely Brazilian actress and former model who was in Maryland at the time studying at Johns Hopkins University. She was also pursuing her film acting training in New York City and acting in local commercial and independent productions. I am fortunate she agreed to do the film. She is an experienced performer and has the natural grace and loveliness that I wanted in the character of the young widow.
The story is inspired by the folk song "Spring Lightning and Thunder" by Mark Wisner. He had heard about the tragic drowning of a 20 yr. old Chesapeake Bay waterman in a winter storm, so he wrote the song about a waterman's widow who dreams her husband returns in a spring thunderstorm. The song is a sea chantey. Traditional sea chanteys often told of drowned sailors returning to their lovers in dreams.
Mark Wisner is now an Alaskan fisherman, but he began working the water on the Chesapeake Bay. He wrote this song almost 40 years ago when he was only seventeen. I heard it on an album of folk songs about the Chesapeake that his father, Tom Wisner, and he recorded. It left a vivid impression on me, and Mark said a lot of people have been moved by the song over the years. He said drowning is an ever-present danger in his work.
​Sensitive Scenes, the Music, and Pre-to-Post Time
The film has scenes with nudity, and there is a love scene. I thought these scenes were important to the story, so I tried to handle them with sensitivity, both while working with the actors and in how they were presented in the final edit. I was nervous about it, and I appreciated my actors' professionalism and trust.
For the music, I decided not to use the song that inspired the story. The lyrics gave the story away, and the sea chantey form did not fit the mood I wanted. I did want to use traditional music, however, to emphasize the ballad-like quality of the story. A friend is a traditional music enthusiast, and he gave me a recording of the Yankee Celtic Consort. It was self-produced, and two of the songs felt right. The owners of both the songs and the recording, Doug Rudy and Phil Franck, generously gave me permission to use their music.
Despite the simplicity of the film's structure and the tight shooting schedule, the film took two years to make from pre- to post- production.
​Director's Statement
The story's setting is the area where I live on the Lower Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. It is a place that I love for its natural beauty and remoteness. It is an area of broad marshes, open water, and big sky. The local people have a traditional way of life that follows the cycle of the seasons and is centered around crabbing in the summer and oystering in the winter.
Many years ago, a young waterman from nearby drowned in a winter storm. This event inspired a folksong, and the song provided the idea for the film.
The film has a simple narrative structure and style. I thought this was appropriate for the story, and it allowed me to work within the limits of my resources. I wanted the character of the young widow to have a quality of quiet stillness and strength. I wanted her to be someone who feels deeply, but who tries to keep her feelings